Our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific are in crisis. In September 2009, Typhoon Ketsana devastated the Philippines and Vietnam, and an earthquake and tsunami rocked Sumatra in Indonesia, and Samoa in the South Pacific.

To help children and families affected by emergencies, like Typhoon Ketsana, donate to our Children's Emergency Fund.

• Donate securely online
• Call our toll free number 1800 76 00 11 and donate over the phone.

Indonesia Earthquake

• Two earthquakes struck off the coast of Sumatra on 30 September 2009 of 7.6-magnitude and 6.8-magnitude. The city of Padang was badly affected — it has a population of 900,000. The National Disaster Management Agency has a confirmed death toll of 1117 people.
• District level data indicates 114,483 houses were severely damaged and 67,182 moderately damaged, meaning an estimated 745,000 people were in need of assistance. The Indonesian Government estimated that rehabilitation and reconstruction will cost US$745 million. The worst affected district is Padang Pariaman, where nearly 85,000 houses have been severely or moderately damaged (approximately 96 percent of the houses).
• 1,078 schools were damaged by the earthquake.
• Save the Children has reached 26,567 families (which is approximately 132,835 people including 66,418 children), with shelter kits (including plastic sheeting and tarpaulins), shelter repair tool kits, hygiene kits and household kits. We have also provided school tents, education kits and teacher kits, and have set up 26 child friendly spaces. Child friendly spaces are places where children can go to and just be children again – they play, have fun with other children and regain a sense of normalcy.

Pictured right: Workers load a truck with hygiene kits in Pariaman district in West Sumatra, Indonesia. These supplies were distributed to children and their families following the earthquake. Save the Children was able to rapidly help those affected because it pre-positions supplies for situations like this. "Preparation is key to saving children's lives," said Mike Penrose, Save the Children Australia's Emergency Program Director.

Vietnam

• Typhoon Ketsana hit Vietnam on September 29 2009, causing the worst floods on record. More than 163 people were killed, and approximately 150,000 people were displaced. Homes were flooded, damaged or destroyed. More than 200 schools were also damaged, affecting children’s education.
• A second typhoon, Typhoon Mirinae, made landfall on the central coast of Vietnam on 3 November, affecting provinces south of the areas affected by Typhoon Ketsana. The death toll is now at 98, with more than 40,000 houses reported as damaged. Over 5,000 households remain isolated, and 24,000 people remain in government buildings used as evacuation sites. Save the Children will undertake a joint rapid assessment with other non-government organisations (NGOs) once flood waters have receded. Save the Children will lead the rapid assessment team in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen – the two worst affected provinces.
• Save the Children has provided immediate recovery relief items and food to almost 100,000 people, of which at least half are children, in the two provinces most affected by Typhoon Ketsana - Quang Tri and Hue.

• We have provided over 15,000 household kits, 15,000 hygiene kits and 600 tons of rice focusing on Da Krong, Hai Lang and Huong Hoa districts in Quang Tri province and Phong Dien and Phu Loc in Hue province – areas most affected by the typhoon.
• Save the Children also delivered hygiene promotion messages to beneficiaries receiving the kits. We also delivered key infant feeding education messaging to pregnant and lactating women at the distribution points.
• Last week Save the Children completed the cash distribution pilot project, reaching over 2,000 beneficiaries. The families will use the money to obtain seeds, tools and livestock. The pilot targeted 400 households who were identified after working directly with villagers and local authorities to identify those most in need of assistance.

Philippines Flooding

• Some 100,000 persons remain displaced in evacuation centers, due to the effects of the storms. This number has been significantly reduced since the peak of 700,000 at the beginning of October. Many public school buildings have been used as evacuation centres.
• Typhoon Mirinae made landfall in the Philippines in the early hours of Saturday October 31, bringing sustained winds of up to 150 km/h. The Typhoon caused widespread communications problems and power outages throughout Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces, increasing water levels again. Some families that had recently left the evacuation centres have had to return due to the arrival of Typhoon Mirinae. A total of 101,749 families (483,490 people) were affected, with 29 fatalities.
• On Sept 26, Tropical Storm Ketsana devastated Central Luzon (including Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces), bringing heavy rainfall that swamped the capital with more rain than seen in four decades. The country was hit exactly 1 week later for a second time, by Typhoon Parma, which left the Philippines on Oct 9.
• Millions of people were affected by Typhoon’s Ketsana and Parma, with hundreds of thousands of people forced to take shelter in crowded evacuation centres. Over 900 people were killed and hundreds more were injured. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged and the economic cost of the damages from the storms is estimated at approximately US$650 million.
• To date, Save the Children has reached 12,766 families (this is approximately 63,830 people, including 38,298 children) with essential non-food items, food assistance, potable water and jerry cans, schools kits and teachers kits. We have also hired and deployed 3 mobile medical teams to provide life-saving care to families in evacuation centres and affected communities, provided breastfeeding support sessions, and established 10 child friendly spaces.

Donate Now

To help children and families affected by emergencies, like Typhoon Ketsana, donate to our Children's Emergency Fund.

• Donate securely online.
• Call our toll free number 1800 76 00 11 and donate over the phone.

Volunteering

There has been an overwhelming response to the current emergencies, with large numbers of skilled professionals offering to volunteer their services. The Australian government has already mobilised medical staff and other skilled professionals who were pre-registered for response.

After the 2004 Asia tsunami, formal channels to deploy volunteers were set up to ensure that all those being deployed had gone through police processes, child protection screening and liability, insurance and medical indemnity checks.

We strongly encourage those who are interested in volunteering their skills to register with Red R Training, so that you are well placed to respond to future emergencies. This can be done at: http://www.redr.org.au/get-involved/how-do-i-apply. Information regarding Australian agencies individual registers is available on the ACFID website www.acfid.asn.au/what-we-do/humanitarian-emergencies/how-can-i-help/volunteering.